Photo courtesy of: Michael JohnsonFresh off a win over UMass, The Dartmouth women's Basketball Team will travel down I-91 to meet the Hartford Hawks on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game can be heard live on The Big Green Insider.

• The Big Green finished the Blue Sky Classic 1-1 after falling against La Salle, 54-43, on Sunday evening, but bounced back against UMass 76-72 for their second victory of the season.

• Fanni Szabo scored a career-best 34 points against UMass, as the freshman continues to thrive at Leede Arena. Her 22.7 points per game at home lead the team by 12.7 points. On the road though, Szabo has not put up the same numbers, but still leads the team, averaging 13.8.

• Sophomore Lakin Roland has become the best interior option for the team this season, averaging 9.5 points inside with 5.3 rebounds per contest. On the defensive end, Roland has taken five charges this season. Over the past five games, she has scored in double figures in each game with two double-doubles in consecutive appearances. In total, she has notched double figures in seven games and tallied nine points twice.

• With the return of Nicola Zimmer and Milica Toskovic to the lineup, the Big Green now have a floor general and inside-outside shooting wing presence. Although she is tied for fourth in team assists, Zimmer’s ability to move the ball will increase her stats after missing seven games. Toskovic, the tallest active player on the roster will remain at the wing because of her speed and shooting ability.

• Hartford enters the game after dropping its previous contest at Penn State, but defeated Sacred Heart before Christmas. At 3-10, the Hawks have struggled early on with losses to UMass, CCSU, St. Francis Brooklyn and Qunnipiac.

HARTFORD SCOUTING REPORT

Wins have not come easy for the former America East powerhouse after winning reaching the post season the past nine seasons. In her 15th season at the helm, Women’s Basketball Hall of famer Jennifer Rizzotti hoping a 1-0 start in league play will erase the 2-10 frustrating non-league start for her team. For Rizzotti, this is one of the first seasons she’s tutored the Hawks without a player in double figures. Deanna Mayza and Cherelle Moore are virtually tied in points this season with Mayza holding a 0.1 advantage at 8.6 to 8.5. Moore leads the team in rebounding at 5.8 per game and Mayza leads the team with 3.2 assists.

ALL-TIME SERIES (HARTFORD)

The Big Green trail Hartford, 11-6 in the overall series which began in 1993. On two occasions, both sides have met in the same calendar year, with Hartford winning both meetings in 1993, but Dartmouth took the 2001 series. The Green have won three games at Leede Arena and at Chase Arena. Hartford is currently on a eight-game winning streak over the Big Green. Hartford head coach Jen Rizzotti is 8-4 against the Green and White.

LAST TIME OUT VS. HARTFORD

Tia Dawson and Faziah Steen each scored 14 points in the defeat, with Dawson one rebound shy of a double-double, as the Big Green fell 67-52 at home on Dec. 9. Hartford had three players finish in double figures in the contest. Alex Hall and Amber Bepko each had 13 points and Ruthanne Doherty added 12. The Hawks shot 56 percent from the field, while the Green shot 36. Abbey Schmitt scored eight points with six assists and Milica Toskovic added seven points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench in 24 minutes.

SZABO CLAIMS HER SECOND IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY HONOR

Fanni Szabo added her second Ivy League Rookie of the Week after scoring a career-high 33 points in a home loss to Providence. Szabo started out slow, scoring seven points in the opening frame, but exploded out of the gate in the second half with 26 points on 11-of-15 from the field and 4-of-6 from the outside. Szabo also added six steals, three rebounds and two assists to her game accolades.

IVY ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Fanni Szabo was named the first Ivy League Rookie of the Week this season after scoring 21 points in her collegiate debut against Holy Cross.

LEADER OF THE PACK

Szabo has led the team offensively in eight of the 12 games so far this season and continues to push her team. Her career-high of 34 points capped a 76-72 victory for the team against UMass in the Blue Sky Classic. In the squads other win this season, Szabo netted 31 in her home debut against Vermont. Through 12 games this season, Szabo has scored 227 points, while averaging 18.9 points per game. She has eclipsed the 20+-point plateau on six occasions this season with three games in the 30+ region. Only twice has she come up short scoring less than 10 points, both losses.

INJURY BUG HURTING GREEN

The Big Green have yet have a game this season, where all 18 members have been healthy enough to dress. The team has gone through stretches where at least one member of the opening night starting lineup has been scratched due to an injury or illness. The team went through a three-game stretch in December where three of the five were inactive. Senior Nicola Zimmer missed seven games due to Mono, as did junior Milica Toskovic who needed four games rest from the same illness. Junior Tia Dawson has four games with a concussion and will now miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury she sustained after returning from her initial injury. The team has yet to see sophomores Kasey Crockett and Lauren Taiclet return from injuries sustained from last season. Sophomore Daisy Jordan also began the season on IR and missed the first eight games with a knee issue, but returned to full active duty against DePaul. Classmate Sophia Roman has also returned from an in-season injury sustained during practice at Syracuse which inactivated her for three games.

OH CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!

Seniors Nicola Zimmer and Eve Zelinger were named co-captains for the season. Zimmer, returns for her second season as team leader, with Zelinger being voted on by her teammates.

SECOND CITY GAL

Junior Abbey Schmitt had a great first season with the big Green in 12-13 after sitting out her freshman campaign with a knee injury, as the Winnetka, Ill. native was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week three times. As a junior, Schmitt transitioned into a center and is averaging 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. In the Green’s home defeat against Albany, Schmitt registered her third career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Schmitt and the Big Green will make a special appearance in her hometown for a pair of games before the holiday break, against DePaul and Loyola Chicago. Against DePaul, Schmitt scored 10 points and had four rebounds. Against Loyola, she had six points, five rebound and one steal.

IT’S THE LAKE SHOW WITH LAKIN ROLAND

Sophomore Lakin Roland impressed the new coaching staff during training camp and has jumped in the starting power forward spot. Roland is second in scoring, averaging 9.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. At 6-0, Roland will need to use her size and ability on the glass to help her team on both ends of the court. Roland has also been a tremendous help on the defensive side and has taken five defensive charges so far. During the recent Chicago trip, Roland nearly averaged a double-double with 11.5 points and nine rebounds. She notched her first double-double against Loyola with 10 points and 12 rebounds. In the next game at home against La Salle, she claimed her second with 13 points an 12 rebounds. Roland finished the Blue Sky Classic with 11 points and six rebounds and was one of two Big Green members on the All-Classic squad. Over the past five games, she has scored in double figures in each game with two double-doubles in consecutive appearances. In total, she has notched double figures in seven games and tallied nine points twice.

TIA’S BLOCK PARTY CANCELLED UNTIL NEXT SEASON

Junior Tia Dawson was set to have a breakout season with the Big Green after setting a new high of six blocks in the home-opener against Vermont. Since then she has played in three more games with a four-game absence sandwiched in between. After returning for just one game against DePaul, where she scored four points but grabbed eight rebounds and helped the Big Green break the full court trap of the Blue Demons, Dawson went down with a season-ending ankle injury in warm-ups against Loyola. Her presence will be missed on the floor, as the team will now once again look for size inside.

HUNGARIAN TRANSPORT

Szabo has made quite a name for herself in her native Hungary. Szabo has been named to multiple All-Tournament teams and has taken the stage in many important games for her country, including an exhibition against Team USA in 2011. Szabo scored four points in the game that featured current WNBA stars Cappie Pondexter, Brittney Griner and Tina Charles.

SELF HIGH-FIVE

The Big Green were chosen fifth in the 2013-14 Ivy League preseason poll, that was conducted by various media outlets within the eight institutions and one national media member.

TUTTO IN FAMIGLIA (All in the Family)

After being hired by Dartmouth, Koclanes searched for a staff that would complement her coaching style. Former Navy assistant Maria Noucas was tabbed as the top-assistant, after battling Koclanes the past few seasons in the Patriot League. Koclanes’ next option was to find someone who understands the ins and outs of the Ivy League. Enter the 2011 Ivy Player of the Year Addie Micir, a Princeton graduate. Micir is a smart, energetic fresh mind that just finished two seasons overseas in Europe. Her most recent team was Challenge Sports Binnenland in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The final position on the staff went to Koclanes’ former student-manager at ODU Michael Motta. The youngest member on staff, Motta spent last season with Providence as a graduate assistant coach.

TOUGH SCHEDULE = GOOD RPI

The schedule will feature six teams that played in the post-season last year, including three from the Ivy League. Dartmouth will square off against four teams from the America East Conference (Albany, Hartford, New Hampshire and Vermont) and two teams from the Big East (DePaul and Providence), Atlantic-10 (La Salle and UMass) and Patriot League (American and Holy Cross). The Big Green will also face single foes from the Atlantic Coast Conference (Syracuse), Northeast Conference (Bryant) and Independent (NJIT).

WELCOME TO HANOVER

Dartmouth will play the most home non-conference games at Leede Arena since the 1992-93 season, when they hosted eight teams. In total this season, the Big Green will welcome 15 different schools to Hanover, but only 14 will face the Green. Binghamton is the only team to not face Dartmouth, as they are the third team in the Blue Sky Classic.

IVY LEAGUE DIGITAL NETWORK

Dartmouth Athletics, in partnership with NeuLion, announced the launch of the brand new Ivy League Digital Network, featuring enhanced live video streaming of all home games and extensive coverage of Big Green road contests against Ivy League foes.

Starting with the 2013-14 season, the completely redesigned Dartmouth channel — known as Big Green Insider — will include an easy-to-navigate interface with a league-wide network schedule and new interactive features that showcase the expanded content offerings available on computer, mobile and tablet devices, all without the use of an app.

FREE LIVE AUDIO

This season 24 of the 28 games will be streamed with free live audio on Dartmouthsports.com and the Ivy League Digital Network. Brett Franklin will have the call beginning with a live 15-minute pre-game show where he will be joined by an assistant coach and player and then an extensive postgame show with head coach Belle Koclanes. During select road games this season, assistant SID Nick Guerriero will join Franklin to help breakdown the game and give the inside scoop on Dartmouth women’s basketball.

THE BRETT FRANKLIN SHOW W/ BELLE KOCLANES

Inspired by former Old Dominion head coach Wendy Larry; Belle Koclanes is following in her footsteps with her own radio talk show segments. Koclanes joins WTSL 94.3FM/1400-AM and WTSV 1230-AM host Brett Franklin every Tuesday evening from 5:30-5:45 p.m. An archive of the weekly segment can be heard on Dartmouthsports.com the following day.

FOLLOW THE BIG GREEN

Interested in the Big Green on social media or looking for in-game updates? Then follow the official twitter account @Dartmouth_WBB. Head coach Belle Koclanes is also on twitter @coachbelleko. Assistant coaches Maria Noucas and Addie Micir can be followed at @mnoucas and @amicker23. Director of Basketball Operations Michael Motta can be searched under @michael_motta. The official FB page is www.facebook.com/DartmouthWomensbasketball.